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Pandemic sparks Skokie man's mission back to art by educating about his heritage

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

SKOKIE, Ill. — A Skokie man realized he's a talented artist during the pandemic and strives to educate about his native homeland of Africa through his charcoal drawings.As his first solo exhibition is underway, John Wangendo reflected to WGN News about the realization he could do this while uniquely educating on the cultures of Africa.Wangendo ended up in the Chicago area 25 years ago from Kenya.He was enjoying his life and has a career, but the boredom of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown unearthed a hidden talent — art and drawing."I'm an independent contractor so my workload really went down. I was just sitting in the house doing nothing — I don't think this would have happened if the lockdown didn't come," Wangendo said. "I knew in the back of my mind I liked drawing, but it was something I didn't think about."Wangendo's daughter pushed him back to art after she saw a couple of sketches he did "here or there."The last time Wangendo took it seriously was when he was 10. Startin...

Senate hearing brings Coast Guard Academy harassment cover-up to forefront

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee held a hearing about the alleged cover-up of whistleblower reports of sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy.Caitlin E. Mauro attended the US Coast Guard Academy for one semester as a teenager before leaving. She told the subcommittee, “I was assaulted. I was groped in a room with 30 of my peers. And they watched and they laughed.”Four women spoke in front of the subcommittee about their personal experiences dealing with abuse, retaliation, and in some cases, alleged crimes against them.“My experiences are not isolated events,” Retired Lieutenant Melissa McCafferty, US Coast Guard, said.“We are always told that you just have to say no,” First Class Cadet Kyra Grace Holmstrup, an active service member, said as she recounted her own experience. “But no to him was an invitation to try again.”“The Academy, and the Coast Guard at large, is fraught with cronyism, power addicts and abusers.” Mauro asserted. ...

Zelensky visits White House to make last-ditch plea

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House on Tuesday afternoon to make a last-ditch plea for additional aid for his country. President Joe Biden and Zelensky held a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office where the two leaders emphasized Ukraine’s urgent need for funding.“Congress needs to pass the supplemental funding to Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess, before they give Putin the greatest Christmas gift they could possible give him,” President Biden said.President Biden announced he signed a $200 million drawdown through the Department of Defense for Ukraine during the bilateral meeting.President Biden is asking Congress to approve $61 billion in additional funding for Ukraine. Republican lawmakers are pushing for stricter border policies in exchange for sending more aid to Ukraine.On Tuesday morning, Zelensky met with lawmakers in both the House and Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called his meeting with...

Despite inflation, these 12 things are actually getting cheaper

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Inflation once again dropped a bit last month – though you may not notice it in the grocery store aisles or on restaurant menus. The latest data on consumer inflation showed that prices in some areas — services such as rents, restaurants and auto insurance — continued to rise uncomfortably fast. But in other areas, prices have actually dropped substantially since last year. A detailed breakdown of prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows one of the biggest year-over-year price drops is fuel. Fuel oil is about 25% cheaper now than it was last year, and gas prices at the pump are about 10% down. Utility gas service, piped into homes and apartments is also about 10% cheaper. Are we in a ‘silent depression’? TikTokers claim 2023 economy is worse than Great Depression Another commodity that's seen a big price drop: eggs. The grocery staple was expensive all through 2022 because of a devastating nationwide bird flu outbreak, but prices have now dropped 22% sin...

'The Big Bang Theory' actress reveals lung cancer diagnosis: 'It was a surprise'

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Kate Micucci, well-known for her roles on "The Big Bang Theory" and "Raising Hope," among other shows and movies, says she has been diagnosed with lung cancer. In a video posted to TikTok over the weekend, the 43-year-old New Jersey native revealed her diagnosis. Micucci, wearing a hospital gown, said she underwent lung cancer surgery on Friday. "They caught it really early," Micucci said in the video, which she referred to as a 'SickTok.' "It’s pretty weird because I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life. So, you know, it was a surprise, but also, I guess it happens."Not counting skin cancer, lung cancer is the second most common cancer among both men and women, according to the American Cancer Society.Kate Micucci attends the "Clerks III" premiere on August 24, 2022, in Los Angeles, California. (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Lionsgate)“And so, the greatest news is they caught it early, they got it out, I’m all good," Micucci continued. "But it’s been a little bit of a...

Special counsel planning to use Trump White House cellphone data in election interference case

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

(The Hill) – Special counsel Jack Smith plans to call witnesses who have analyzed data extracted from former President Trump’s cellphone, including one who can weigh in on his Twitter habits and another who has analyzed the movement of the Jan. 6, 2021, crowd following Trump’s speech that day.The Monday filing is the first indication of how Smith plans to use a massive tranche of information gathered from Trump’s account on Twitter, the social media network now known as X, following a secret court battle to secure access to the account.Prosecutors in the election interference case also extracted data from Trump’s White House cell phone, and that of an aide, described in the filing only as “Individual 1.”The expert, who is unnamed in the court filing, reviewed how Trump and the aide used their phone throughout the post-election period, and has “specifically identified the periods of time during which the defendant’s phone was unlocked and the Twitter application was open on Jan. 6.” ...

LIVE: Austin police give update on deadly shooting spree case

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department is planning to give an update Tuesday afternoon on last week's shooting spree that left six people dead and others injured. APD said it will hold a press conference Tuesday at 3 p.m. to "provide an update regarding the incidents that occurred on Dec. 5." KXAN will live stream the press conference in the video player at the top of this story and on Facebook. Central Texas shooting spree suspect faces 10 charges, including 4 for capital murder APD Interim Chief Robin Henderson, APD Homicide Unit, APD Aggravated Assault Unit, and Austin ISD PD Chief Wayne Sneed will be at the conference. Dec. 5 was the day several shootings happened in Austin. Shane James, 34, is accused of being responsible for each one. James is accused of killing six people and injuring three others during a string of violent incidents in Bexar County and Austin Dec. 4 and Dec. 5. He faces 10 charges, including multiple capital murder an...

Hmong comedian Tou Ger Xiong kidnapped, killed in Colombia

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

Authorities in Medellin, Colombia have identified the body of a man who was found stabbed multiple times as that of Twin cities comedian Tou Ger Xiong, who grew up in St. Paul and was widely known as an advocate for the Hmong community.News of his death was carried online Tuesday by the Medellin-based newspaper El Colombiano, which reported that Tou Ger Xiong’s body was recovered from the Corcovada ravine in the city’s Robledo La Pola neighborhood. He suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma, according to the newspaper.A written statement on Tuesday from Eh Xiong, Tou Ger Xiong’s brother, described him as a “cherished member of our family, and the pain of his loss is indescribable. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement agencies who are diligently working to investigate this heinous crime.”Tou Ger Xiong, a recipient of the prestigious Bush Fellowship in 2019, was a founder of the “Hmong Minnesota Day” at the Minnesota Stat...

New York's high court orders new congressional maps as Democrats move to retake control of US House

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s highest court on Tuesday ordered the state to draw new congressional districts ahead of the 2024 elections, giving Democrats a potential advantage in what is expected to be a battleground for control of the U.S. House.The 4-3 decision from the New York Court of Appeals could have major ramifications as Democrats angle for more favorable district lines in the state next year. Republicans, who won control of the House after flipping seats in New York, sought to keep the map in place. The state’s bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission will now be tasked with coming up with new districts, which will then go before the Democrat-controlled Legislature for approval. The court ordered the commission to file a map no later than Feb. 28, 2024. “In 2014, the voters of New York amended our Constitution to provide that legislative districts be drawn by an Independent Redistricting Commission,” Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson wrote for the majority. “The Consti...

CU Boulder study finds harsh workplace pushing women out of academia

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

Women are more likely to leave academia than men at any point in their faculty career due to harassment and feelings of not belonging, according to research from the University of Colorado Boulder.The research looked at gendered retention patterns among professors to understand if women and men leave academia at different rates.“We found that women were more likely to leave at every career age, but it varied a lot across field as well as prestige and career age,” CU Boulder doctoral student Katie Spoon said.Katie Spoon, a CU Boulder doctoral student, leads research on the gendered difference in faculty retention rates at universities in the United States (CU Boulder/Courtesy Photo)The study analyzed employment records of 245,270 tenure-track and tenured professors from 391 universities that grant doctoral degrees, including CU Boulder.The study found that the gender gap in retention grew for older faculty and faculty with tenure. Spoon said this finding was surprising because ...